Redshift
by Fran Goat
Summary: "If two people are meant to be together, eventually they'll find their way back." -Chuck Bass. Ship: Banshmi (Banshee-44 & Lakshmi-2) Rated T for language and mild sexual themes. I own no characters, rights go to Bungie.
1. Always this late

**_"_ _We keep our mysteries close. Take them from us if you can."_**

* * *

Her day had come to a close, just as the midnight sun cast its illuminating light overhead the broken god that suspended dormant over the last city. Lakshmi stood in her usual spot until all of her followers left the small clubhouse above the Tower Hangar that everyone knew ultimately belonged to the Future War Cult. After the last follower had left she watched them all leave the hangar from the large glass wall behind her. Upon turning her head back to the empty room that was tinted different shades of orange, the Exo turned off her tablet she held onto all day and placed it on the small table by one of the couches before finally she walked to the stairs and out of the Tower Hangar.

He was assisting a late Guardian at this hour, the sight of the moon distracted him none from the young leveled Titan that was eager on purchasing a single pulse rifle with some ammo synthesis. When the Titan left his small corner of the tower, Banshee turned his head towards the city finally acknowledging how late in the night it was, but he did not close up shop for he believed another Guardian would come along to buy from him. The gunsmith's eyes laid upon a figure who stood by the railings looking out into the horizon, he recognized the figure, she had stood against the same spot by the railings for as long as he could remember, even when his memory was wiped more times than anyone could count. At times he could recall why she stood there but the reason was very faint or very vague that it wasn't even worth mentioning why at all other than she just admired the view.

She would stand there for hours until she could see the bright face of the moon begin to rest in the west, just as the sun did the day prior. The Exo's head then turned to the tower and up to the Gunsmith, who was still awake as well. Her feet guided her to the fellow Exo and stopped at his small shop. Hands placed lightly on the metal stand, she looked at him with light blue eyes that seemed timid at the sight of the Gunsmith and she said in a calming voice, "Hi."

"Looks like you've had a rough night." Banshee greeted in his usually cold and masculine tone.

Lakshmi nodded her head. "I haven't slept in a few days."

Banshee failed to respond back to the Future War Cult represent, he lowered his head instead.

For a while they stood there silent, just giving quick glances until one of them would break the silence, but neither of them did. The mood broke when a high level Hunter came about asking for synthesis. The two Exos looked at each other before Lakshmi turned head and began walking back to the Tower Hangar. Banshee watched her as she left, the words in his throat were begging to come out but when the fellow Exo was out of sight he turned to the Hunter and fulfilled his order.

It was a long walk back to the War Cult's clubhouse, long and shameful in Lakshmi's head. In her chest she felt an absence, a repetitive feeling she hoped to never experience more than once… She hoped for too much. The Exo turned her head a few times behind herself out of habit in situations like these and every single time she saw someone leaving or nobody standing there at all. This time she saw both.


	2. Venus as a boy

**"Take a chance, you never know what might happen."**

* * *

He was an active duty soldier, geared to take on any enemy that stood before him. He could shoot down ten or more enemies and still have ammunition in his rifles. He could repair weapons in the middle of battle and fire back with minimal scratches and dents to his armor. With a gun, he was a force to be reckoned with.

She was a nurse at the time, programmed to assist the wounded in battle. She was nothing much more than an Exo. She saw him on the day he carried a wounded ally with him to the infirmary, swift and eager to assist a comrade who had been injured on the field. She looked at him and forgot that he charged into the tents unannounced while barking at the other nurses to help his friend. For a moment she wished he was barking those words at her, to imagine him talking to her was something she yearned for. Her fantasy however, would have to wait for another time, because as the soldier charged in the tents he charged back out into the open, only quicker.

For the longest time, she would ask around about the stranger man but not get much response in return. She would figure such a man would be well known throughout the camp, the lack of information set her investigation to a devastating halt. What more could she do? She thought about it for days, over long hours.

"Perhaps the only way to meet him is on the battlefield itself?" She said to herself.

"Are you crazy, Lakshmi?" Another nurse asked, overhearing the fellow nurse, sitting down next to her in the cafeteria.

"Crazy?" Lakshmi turned her head to the other nurse. "What is being crazy when you're in love?"

The nurse scrolled her eyes to Lakshmi, hearing such words. "Love? Love for whom?"

Lakshmi held her head in her hands, thinking of the man in those few moments that she remembered seeing him. "I do not know his name, it seems nobody knows."

The accompanied nurse looked down at her finger that made little circles on the table. "What did he look like?"

Lakshmi rejoiced at the question. She could describe the man in a million words and still feel that they weren't enough. "He looked like a God."

The nurse looked to Lakshmi. "A God?" She asked. "Surprising that nobody knows much about such a man."

"I know, it is such a shame." Lakshmi stood up from the table. "I'm leaving for the battlefield at midnight."

The fellow nurse turned to Lakshmi with obvious concern. "Are you sure about that Lakshmi?" She stood up and went to the fellow nurse, still displaying obvious concern. "We're made nurses for a reason─"

"I don't care what I was assigned to do," She said in a nasty tone of voice. "We Exos are programmed to become self-aware but because we are just bodies of metal does that mean we cannot display feelings as humans do?"

The nurse looked back at Lakshmi, trying to configure her words but it was difficult to any human or Awoken to understand that Exos shared a similarity in mental state as they. Before the Golden Age, artificial intelligence or what they commonly knew as robotic bodies did not share an emotion or similar mental function as their fellow humans but as the advancement of science progressed, Exos were beginning to experience self-awareness the perception of robotics changed but some kept their prejudices. The nurse after a moment failed to recognize Lakshmi's statement and turned her head back to the table. "Alright then, have fun." She replied to the Exo, not even making eye contact.

Without a response to the fellow nurse, Lakshmi was on her way. Before she could find her metallic Romeo, preparations were to be made before her venture.

The crest of the moon had rose from beyond the hills, casting dim shadows upon the decimated battlefield decorated with deceased Fallen and soldiers alike. Sitting at the nearby base, sat the reclaimed 'legendary' soldier, smoking an electronic cigarette.

"Hey Banshee!" Some of the rookies called. "Wanna pose with the dead Fallen?"

Banshee let out a slight chuckle, taking a puff of the vapor from the small cigarette. "Nah, you boys go on ahead."

Not far behind, Lakshmi spied on Banshee from beyond his tent. He was so much more glorious than she had remembered, she wanted to go closer, to touch him or talk to him, but alas, she was too shy. After a while, storm clouds could be seen overhead. Banshee returned to his tent just as the first few droplets started to fall; Lakshmi hid to avoid the rain.

The hours strolled by as the rain hit down harder, Lakshmi lied by the hill near the camp curled up in a ball under the gray sky letting the pellets crash against the bare parts of her body. Banshee lied on his cot, closing his eyes. Turning off was pointless. "Exos don't dream…" He said sitting up. "What is 'dream', and what is there to dream about?" He sighed.

A loud scream snapped Banshee from his thoughts followed by a crash against the crates of rations and ammunitions outside his tent. He rushed outside to find an unconscious Lakshmi lying in the mud. Banshee looked at the fellow Exo in surprise, he tried to wake her but with no response. "She must be a nurse from the station… But that's miles from here." He said picking her up from the muddy ground and walking back into the tent with the nurse.

The hours passed by and so did the storm; Banshee had spent most of that time cleaning the mud from the metallic nurse's frame, she was still unconscious when he wrapped her in blankets and laid her on his cot, he had tried to wake her but to no avail. Banshee pulled up a stool and sat across from his cot staring at the Exo. " _She sure is pretty,_ " He thought. " _What was she doing all the way out here?"_


	3. Festival of the Lost

**"It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember."**

* * *

The night wind blew over the Tower on the eve of the Festival of the Lost. It was enough to make a man shudder, but Banshee shuddered not; The Exo helped hang decorations around the Tower, he even wore a mask to celebrate the occasion.

"Don't hang those here." Lakshmi ordered.

Banshee looked at Lakshmi in disbelief. "I thought you liked the Festival?" He moved his feet to her.

She stood erect, much like a soldier. "The Future War Cult doesn't allow such festivities within its order; now I ask you kindly to take your décor and leave."

"Hmph, I remember when you loved holidays."

"Times have changed, I suppose…" Her voice was so distant, it made Banshee's chest ache. A small hand gesture by Lakshmi drove Banshee to leave the club house. The Gunsmith's long walk back to the other decorators was short; his hands letting loose of the banners that had the Festival symbol printed upon them, the soft sound they made as they touched the ground was almost audible to Banshee but not enough to grasp his attention.

"I remember…" He whimpered to himself, walking over the fallen décor. When he returned to his shop, the Gunsmith sat on the floor behind his large metal stands, closed his eyes and went on a trip to better times…

He remembered when she woke up on that dreadful night; her loveliness in the lantern light. Her sheen overwhelmed him, when she spoke, the words were like fire to his innards.

"H-hi," She spoke quite nervously, seeing Banshee stand before her.

"Hey," He helped Lakshmi from the cot, her eyes gazing into his. "You have a name, or do I call you 'nurse'?

"My name is Lakshmi."

"The name's Banshee-12."

Lakshmi's eyes widened at that number. "Twelve?" She flabbergasted. "Why so many wipes?"

"Don't remember," He said. "A shame isn't it, I know." He noticed his arms around Lakshmi's waist. "Do you mind if I hold you like this?"

Lakshmi chuckled lightly. "I don't mind at all." She wrapped her arms around his torso, bringing Banshee closer.

For a while the two stared at each other, embraced in Cupid's ribbon of love. They touched heads and began to rock back and forth in a small dance. Their music was the taps of the rain and the crackling of the oil lantern; to them there was nothing that could break this bond, it was almost magnetic.

"If I could kiss you I would…"

"We could…" Banshee closed in on her mouth, where a pair of lips ought to be and in his head kissed the lovely Exo.

Lakshmi complied with Banshee and did as he did. When they parted, Lakshmi looked at her fellow Exo astonished, how he could come up with such a way to make her feel the way she did was overwhelming to her circuits.

"You know, I've been wanting to meet you for a long while now…"

Banshee asked, "How long a while?"

"Ever since you came to the station that one time with that wounded soldier…"

"Heh," He chuckled. "I knew I recognized you from somewhere."

Lakshmi looked at him surprised.

"I never forget a pretty face…"

"So you'll never forget me?"

"Never in a million wipes."

The cold autumn wind crashed against his right side as he spoke those words. He sighed opening his eyes and seeing the backend of his shop.

"Banshee, what're you doing sitting around?" Asked Cayde as he swung over to the Gunsmith's shop. "We have decorations to hang up!"

Banshee looked down a bit. "Right…" He said staggering to his feet.

"Everything alright, buddy?"

"Yeah, just a lose bolt or something…"

Cayde looked at him concerned. "You should get that check out."

"I'll make sure to do that." He said as Cayde placed some banners on Banshee's stand.

Banshee looked down at the banners, near disgusted, as the Hunter Vanguard walked away. "It's never been the same." He muttered to himself. "Not since Nova…"


	4. Settle down

_**"There isn't a day that goes by where I don't, at some point, think of you.**_

The war was over, for now… It had been near over a century since the last Guardian had fallen in such a battle, the Fallen were weakened by forces of the light and retreated. Banshee had returned to The Last City, he was awarded for his active duty and left the war zone behind him, settling with his new bride, Lakshmi. They had a beautiful wedding, even if it was small, they were surrounded by close friends and said their vows before the glorious sight of the Traveler. There was no strife between this couple, their bond was everlasting as ink to paper. The night of their wedding was very slow, the newly wedded couple stood before each other without their normal sleeping attire, nude for the first time.

"You equipped a newer model?" Banshee commented on his bride's chest.

"Y-yes, I thought you'd like it more than my previous model…" Lakshmi covered herself, feeling a strong heat in her face.

Banshee stood a bit closer, his hand on her arm. "You don't ever have to change for me, I didn't marry you for your body now, did I?" He moved his hand to her face.

Lakshmi held onto his hand that touched her face, she was pleased by this. "I guess you didn't." If she could smile at that time she would have, she would always smile for him. He made her feel special, more than an Exo… Human is what he made her.

"So uh… How do we do this?" Banshee asked.

"I don't know, I suppose we just hug and lay down?"

"I'm down for anything if it's with you babe."

Without doing intercourse properly, the couple was caught in a series of questions with each other, _"Who would get a job?" "What days could be considered 'date' night?" "Joining the Future war cult?"_

"Absolutely not." Banshee said abrupt.

"Why not?"

"I will not send you off to be part of those freaks!"

Banshee knew well what the Future War Cult was all about, slaves to the inner circle, a faction dedicated to war, believing war is the only constant… Brainwashed they all were. He didn't want Lakshmi apart of it.

Lakshmi was dismayed by his words and quickly decided to drop the subject by replacing it with a new one.

"How about a child?"

"A child?" Banshee asked. "We can't procreate."

"Who says we need to procreate?" She replied. "We could adopt, could we?"

"I suppose, or we could build our own?"

"That sounds like a plan right?" Lakshmi was glowing with excitement. "We can build our own child!"

"─But first, we have to get Glimmer and where do we get Glimmer?"

"…Jobs."

"Yep, so why don't we just focus on being married before we have little Exos running around?"

"Alright then…" Lakshmi went into Banshee and hugged him tight.

A short while after their marriage, Banshee had gotten a job offer in the North Tower of the Last city as a Gunsmith, he took it and set up shop immediately. There was a cozy dorm in the Tower for both Banshee and Lakshmi, since Guardians are the only ones who have available transport to the Tower it was only fair that the Tower's workers were given dorms to rest in at the end of each day.

Working as a Gunsmith was no stress to Banshee, he knew guns inside and out, he knew which guns would suit Guardians best and he was often praised for it. On some occasions, Lakshmi would assist Banshee with handling some weapons and their parts.

The Future War Cult had just been recently granted access to the Tower, this gave Lakshmi the chance to do what she pleased. Slipping away during a coffee break, Lakshmi made her way to the Tower Hangar; the Exo was nervous about straying away from her beloved but the magnetic pull towards the Cult was stronger than her love for Banshee. The closer to the newly refurbished clubhouse the less mental function Lakshmi had, it was almost as if she were under a spell that could not be broken, only to be free from its shackles once accomplished.

"Hello, Exo." The representative of the War Cult greeted.

Lakshmi broke from her trance. "Oh, yes, hello." She extended a hand out towards the person in the War Cult colors, but did not receive such a generous gesture in return.

"You wish to join the Future War Cult, or are you here to waste my time?"

"N-no, I want to join." Lakshmi did not present herself in the way that she wished. "How do I apply?"

"I need your name and place of residence, we send you a letter notifying you of our next orientation, which you must attend to become a member."

"My name is…" She paused for a moment to catch her bearings. "My name is Lakshmi-1 and I live in the Tower dorms, apartment 463."

"Lakshmi-1?" The person asked. "Purpose of the wipe, if I may ask?"

"They wiped us Exos after the Battle of Twilight Gap, my husband had to receive multiple wipes since he was in active duty."

"Hm, interesting." The Cult representative stood there recording Lakshmi's information.

As the representative was finishing up, the sound of stomping broke their small conversation. "Lakshmi!" Banshee yelled, stomping over to her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the stairs, marching down with her in hand.

"What the hell, Lakshmi?" Banshee scolded his wife at the bottom of the stairs. "I told you not to go near the War Cult!"

Lakshmi had no words to give to the Exo, she was too embarrassed and upset to say much.

"I don't want you to be a part of them, understand?"

Lakshmi nodded then kept her head down in a shame-like manner. Banshee looked down at his wife and felt a bit of regret for yelling. "Look babe," he said. "I'm sorry for yelling, I just… Don't want you to be like them…" He received no response from the female Exo, who continued to keep her head down. Banshee leaned in to hug her, he did so tightly. "I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you to them or anything else."

Lakshmi wrapped her arms around her husband, leaning her head against his shoulder, she continued to stay silent as they walked back to the Gunsmith stand.

Over time, Lakshmi's obsession with the War Cult grew, her anxiousness to be a part of it. She waited every day for the letter, to tear it open to see it read 'Official Cult Member', it was then would she be happy… But Banshee must never know.

One day however, a letter addressed to Lakshmi had come to their apartment; could this be it? Was she a member after the long weeks? Lakshmi took the letter to the bedroom, locked the door and landed on the bed. She tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter.

" _Congratulations, you have been selected by Dr. Shim, owner of the Exo manufacture co. To be given parts to assemble a model Exo─"_

What was this? A message from Dr. Shim, the creator, to construct an Exo… This had to be some joke, she rushed out of the bedroom to find Banshee, who was at work at that moment. She couldn't wait for him to return home, she rushed out of the apartment and to the Tower Plaza.

Banshee, at his work station, had no idea of the excited Exo that awaited him. "Banshee!" A woman's voice called out. "Banshee!" The male Exo heard the voice in the distance and saw his wife running at him. "Look at this letter we got in the mail today!" She said when she reached the stand.

Banshee read over the letter. "Hm, well I'd be damned."

"We're going to get our own child?" Lakshmi asked.

"Yes, yes we are."

"How did Dr. Shim"

"I wrote him a letter the day after you said you wanted a child, Doctor returned a letter quick."

Lakshmi had no words to describe the joy; she threw her arms around Banshee and hugged him tightly. It was this that made her forget about the war driven faction, there was no talk about the Future War Cult after that day from Lakshmi, she had much more important things to worry about now.


End file.
